simulai.xyz is a research practice applying the discipline of the International Typographic Style to the design of simulation systems. We calculate margins the way Basel calculated them in 1958: because the answer is correct, not because it is pretty.
000px sidebar
0column grid
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Thesis / On the rejection of ornament.
A simulation is an argument typeset in executable form. The quality of the argument depends on the quality of the typesetting: the spacing between variables, the hierarchy of systems, the absence of decorative flourishes that do not serve the model.
We work in the manner of Josef Muller-Brockmann, for whom the grid was not a constraint but a guarantee of honesty. Every ornament is a place where a system could have been clearer and was not. We refuse them all. The result is severe and warm at the same time — terracotta on parchment, clay on cream.
The catalogue that follows is short on purpose. The sections are numbered because they mean something. The columns are visible because we are not ashamed of them.
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Method / Five principles, set in order.
Our method is not a methodology. It is a list of five refusals and five commitments. Each commitment is measurable. Each refusal is enforceable by reviewing the diff.
I
Mathematical grids.
Every layout decision is traceable to a column, a gutter, or a multiple of the baseline. No decision is made by eye.
II
Asymmetric balance.
Symmetry is a default, not a design. We distribute optical weight across the grid using weight, size, and counter-space.
III
Typographic hierarchy.
Typography is the primary material. Scale, weight, and tracking do the work that colour and ornament do elsewhere.
IV
Rejection of decoration.
Rounded corners, drop shadows, gradients on surfaces, and playful animation are absent. Not forbidden — absent, as a matter of course.
V
Visible structure.
We show the grid. We show the counter. We show the section number. A Swiss system does not hide its calculations.
“The grid is a proportional regulator for composition, tables, pictures. It is a formal programme to accommodate x unknown items.”
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Systems / Four instruments we build.
System A
Agora — agent population engine
Large-scale multi-agent simulation with deterministic replay. 10^6 agents, 10ms tick, auditable history. Output: JSONL traces.
v. 2.4.0 · active
System B
Isotype — world-state renderer
Duotone visualisation of state tensors at arbitrary timestamps. No textures, no shaders, no friction — only rectangles, rules, and terracotta.
v. 1.1.3 · active
System C
Metronome — deterministic scheduler
Linear-time discrete event scheduler written in Rust. Provably non-chaotic under replay. Used by Agora and Isotype.
v. 0.9.1 · beta
System D
Basel — report compositor
Converts simulation output into typeset PDFs on a 6-column grid. The report is the simulation, set in Barlow Condensed.
v. 0.3.0 · preview
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Metrics / The numbers, set in tabular figures.
0Agent ticks computed, last 24h0%Deterministic replay fidelity0Simulations archived since 20240Published reports, peer-reviewed0msMedian scheduler latency0Year our baseline was typeset
ID
Subject
Agents
Ticks
Status
SIM-0412
Urban mobility, Basel-North
184,200
8.4 · 10&sup6;
Replayed
SIM-0411
Opinion dynamics, six clusters
62,000
3.1 · 10&sup6;
Sealed
SIM-0410
Thermal grid, Muttenz district
9,840
1.2 · 10&sup6;
Live
SIM-0409
Queue theory, helvetic rail
4,100
0.4 · 10&sup6;
Sealed
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Practice / How a project begins.
A project begins with a question. The question is written on a single line, in Barlow Condensed, weight 600, uppercase. It is pinned to the top of a sheet of A3 paper that is ruled in six columns. If the question fits, the project proceeds. If it does not, the question is rewritten until it does.
Phase 01
Frame
The question. The constraints. The time horizon. Set in two paragraphs, no longer.
Phase 02
Grid
The structure of the simulation expressed as columns and rows. Diagrams only, no prose.
Phase 03
Run
Metronome drives the scheduler. Agora produces the traces. Sealed to disk after every tick.
Phase 04
Set
Basel compositor typesets the report. Isotype renders the figures. One reviewer, one afternoon.
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Colophon / Notes on the making of this page.
Typography
Headings in Barlow Condensed, weight 600, set uppercase with 0.02em tracking. Body in IBM Plex Sans at 16 px, 1.8 leading. Data in IBM Plex Mono, 13 px, uppercase, tracked at 0.08em.
Palette
Cream — #FAF6F0
Parchment — #F2EDE6
Terracotta — #B88A6A
Clay — #8A5A3A
Swiss red — #C4443A
Near-black — #2A2420
Warm grey — #7A7068
Grid
Six columns at 24 px gutters, 48 px margins. Sidebar 240 px, fixed. A single 1 px vertical rule in terracotta at 40% opacity separates sidebar from content. No shadow. No gradient.
Correspondence
Studio simulai — Grellingerstrasse 44, 4052 Basel. Telex not available. Email is available, printed in the footer of every archived report.